Willmott Dixon’s track-record for school transformation programmes in towns and cities across the country has been further enhanced by its role in Milton Keynes.

Milton Keynes Council aims to deliver over 10,000 much-needed new school places and Willmott Dixon’s initial role will see it build the first three schools, Newton Leys, Fairfield and Whitehouse Primary Schools, which will open ready for the new intake of pupils in September 2016.

In recent years, Willmott Dixon has transformed school accommodation in Liverpool, Middleborough, Isle of Wight, Bedfordshire, Southampton and Warwickshire with multiple projects that replaced life-expired property or created new schools to provide extra capacity for places.

Milton Keynes Council enlisted this education sector expertise for its first tranche of schools through the National Major Works Framework, one of six frameworks provided by Scape Group. The entire programme will see Milton Keynes create seven new schools as well as expand 12 schools by 2018.

Willmott Dixon is working with two architects; CORDE for Fairfield and Whitehouse, with Synergy for Newton Leys.

Peter Owen, managing director at Willmott Dixon, said: “Demand for schools places across the country is outstripping supply and Milton Keynes is not unique in implementing a major school investment programme. We’ve delivered several programmes to revitalise schools across the country and will be deploying our know-how and skills in Milton Keynes.”

Peter continued:

“The first three schools will deliver 2,000 additional primary places and by using the Scape Major Works framework, Milton Keynes will save time and cost which can instead be channelled into important areas such as front line services. We’ll also ensure local companies benefit as supporting the ‘local pound’ is a very important part of what we do.”

Leader of the Council, Cllr Peter Marland, said:

“I’m delighted that this ambitious school development programme is progressing. We want to ensure all children living in Milton Keynes can access a good local school place and I am proud that our team are working collaboratively with Willmott Dixon to make that a reality. The Scape Major Works framework will also provide a further boost to the local economy through its commitment to offer apprenticeships, work experience and other opportunities to Milton Keynes residents.”